Association between Emotional Intelligence and Family Functionality in Residents of Family Medicine in Tijuana, Mexico

Research Article

J Fam Med. 2022; 9(3): 1293.

Association between Emotional Intelligence and Family Functionality in Residents of Family Medicine in Tijuana, Mexico

Ramonetti-Armenta MF*, Orduno-Cabrera LA, Salazar-Perfecto MA, Lopez-Hernandez JN, Delgado-Luna JE and Jacobo-Bautista LC

Department of Family Medicine, Family Medicine Unit #27, IMSS, Baja California, Mexico

*Corresponding author: Romanetti-Armenta Maria Fernanda, Department of Family Medicine, Family Medicine Unit #27, IMSS, Baja California, Mexico

Received: January 19, 2022; Accepted: February 12, 2022; Published: February 19, 2022

Abstract

Background: The family medicine resident stays in permanent contact with the primary care centers where acquire the knowledge of primary, integral and continuous care for the individual and their family. These future family doctors will be the head of the preventive and curative care and will frequently serve as counselors to family members.

Objective: To determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and family functionality in Family Medicine Resident Physicians in the family medicine unit #27 of Tijuana, Mexico.

Methods: Comparative cross-sectional study in family medicine resident physicians at FMU 27. Participants answered the family APGAR and TMMS- 24 scale to determine the family functionality and emotional intelligence. Descriptive statistics were used, the qualitative variables were expressed in frequencies and percentages, and the quantitative variables in measures of central tendency and dispersion. The assumption of normality was made by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The Chi-squared test was used to analyze differences in categorical variables, and the Odds ratio was used to calculate risk. The information obtained was analyzed in the statistical program SPSS version 25.

Results: 58 participants were included. 46 (79.3%) residents have a functional family, of which 14 (24.1%) pay little attention to their emotions and 4 (6.9%) pays too much attention. Of the total of residents, 35 (60.3%) present adequate attention.

Conclusions: Although most studies affirm that there is a relationship in family functionality and emotional intelligence, a significant relationship was not confirmed.

Keywords: Family Functionality; Emotional Intelligence; Family Medicine Residents

Introduction

The family medicine resident stays in permanent contact with the primary care centers where acquire the knowledge of primary, integral and continuous care for the individual and their family [1]. These future family doctors will be the head of the preventive and curative care and will frequently serve as counselors to family members. During residency there are stressful and interpersonal factors that can be associated with chronic fatigue, inefficiency and denial, compromising their psychological state [2]. In this situation the emotional intelligence and the family support are key tools to overcome adversity.

Emotional intelligence is defined as a characteristic that allows a person to relate to different stimuli, states or situations in the environment [3]. Another definition is the ability to demonstrate to the individual an awareness of their personal emotions to access and provide feelings that facilitate thinking to adopt an attitude that favors their emotional and intellectual growth; as well as to access and generate feelings that facilitate thinking, understanding and regulation of emotions. In 1995, the one who popularized the concept was Goleman who commented that emotional intelligence allows academic and work success with greater accuracy than classic intelligence measures such as IQ [4]. With emotional intelligence, people can access to identify their emotions, as well as have a better result in their activities, distinguish which of them have the greatest strength to mark their personality [5].

In medicine, emotional intelligence is a key idea for structuring interpersonal and communication skills among medical personnel, adopting an empathic and social attitude, thereby demonstrating professionalism. According to this, it is said that emotional intelligence in medicine helps in the doctor-patient relationship, aspects related to the quality of care and patient satisfaction, the level of involvement, the professional satisfaction of doctors and, finally in the training and development of clinical communication skills [6].

Emotional intelligence generally born in the family core. Functional family prepares the members to face the problems. In that way, family functionality has been defined by Mc Cubbin and Thompson (1987) as “the set of attributes that characterize the family as a system and that explain the regularities found in the way the family system operates, evaluates or behaves” [7]. Family functionality implies concepts such as: family cohesion, democratic parenting styles, emotional attachment and conflict resolution strategies and refers to the ability of the family to maintain its system despite events or threats that may generate changes in any of the its members [8].

A functional family can be differentiated in the levels of flexibility it develops to adapt and respond to everyday difficulties. While in dysfunctional systems, behavioral options are usually blocked and they lack resolutive alternatives. In other words, the inappropriate behavior of its members limits the healthy and peaceful coexistence of family members, since they do not have the necessary resources to face certain family problems [9]. Within the family there are general functions for the preservation and transmission of culture, the protection of all against internal and external dangers, of which there are five that are care, affection, expression of sexuality and regulation of fertility, socialization and lastly, status or social level [10]. The present study aims to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and family functionality in Family Medicine Resident Physicians in the family medicine unit #27 of Tijuana, Mexico.

Material and Methods

Study design and population

A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out in Tijuana, Mexico, between August to September 2021. The research was developed in the family medicine unit number 27 (UMF 27) of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS); primary care unit in the region. All the family medicine residents were included in the study.

Variables

The collection of variables was done with a standardized data form. The variables collected were the following: age, sex, marital status, education, emotional intelligence and family functionality. The tools used were Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) to measure emotional intelligence, it was evaluated with the Spanish version which includes three dimensions: attention or perception, which is the identification of emotions and knowing how to express; clarity that is the understanding of emotions and; repair or regulation, which is the ability to manage emotions. The 3 dimensions have 8 items each one. The responses evaluated are 5-point Likert type. This test has an internal consistency of a=0.90 for perception, a=0.90 for understanding, and a=0.86 for emotional regulation or repair. The scale distinguishes between men and women. The total score was interpreted in each dimension in a particular way [11].

Family APGAR was used for family functionality, which is a screening tool that has the components of family function, which are adaptation, participation, gain or growth, affection and resources. Each question is expressed with a Likert-type response. In 1994, a proposal was made in Colombia for a validation, for adaptation to the Spanish language, it has a Cronbach's Alpha = 0.86. It was given to each patient and answered personally, except those who cannot read. Each response is scored from 0 to 4, with the following rating, 0: Never, 1: Almost never, 2: Sometimes, 3: Almost always, and 4: Always. The score was interpreted as normal 17-20 points, mild dysfunction 16-13 points, moderate dysfunction 12-10 points, severe dysfunction less than or equal to 9 points [12].

Statistical analysis

Descriptive statistics were used, the qualitative variables were expressed in frequencies and percentages, and the quantitative variables in measures of central tendency and dispersion. The assumption of normality was made by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The Chi-squared test was used to analyze differences in categorical variables, and the Odds ratio was used to calculate risk. The information obtained was analyzed in the statistical program SPSS version 25.

Ethics

The study was approved by the Local Committee for Ethics and Health Research number 204, with registration number R-2021- 204-034. The research was conducted under the General Health Law on Health Research, the Declaration of Helsinki and bioethical principles.

Results

58 participants were included, of which the mean age was 29.7 years. The age range was: 24-28 years with 21 residents (36.2%), 29-34 years with 31 residents (53.4%) and over 34 years with 6 participants (10%). In sex, 37 (63.8%) were female and 21 (36.2%) male. Of the total number of participants included, 42 residents (72.4%) were single, 4 (6.9%) in cohabitation, 10 (17.2%) married and 2 (3.4%) divorced. In the grade of specialty, 31% belonged to the first grade, 31% to second grade and the third grade were 38%.

In the family functionality and emotional intelligence, 46 (79.3%) residents have a functional family, of which 14 (24.1%) pay little attention to their emotions and 4 (6.9%) pays too much attention. Only 1 (1.72) resident presented severe dysfunction which have little attention to their emotions. Of the total of residents, 35 (60.3%) present adequate attention. In the relationship between the clarity of emotions, 31 (53.45%) residents have adequate clarity in their emotions, of these 24 (41.38%) have a functional family. Of the residents who had an excellent understanding of their emotions, 100% had a functional family. According to the repair of emotional intelligence and family functionality of the residents, which should improve their regulation, there are 2 (3.45%) who have mild family dysfunction. There were 9 (15.5%) residents who have excellent emotion regulation (Figure 1-3).